The Hague – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) of The Hague recognized this Thursday (24th) Bolivia’s right to dispute with Chile sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean. The court rejected the appeal of Chile, which argued that the Court had no jurisdiction over the case and complained for the terms of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 to be maintained. The treaty ended the conflict started in 1879, when Chilean forces occupied a territory of 120,000 km2 ending at the sea.
The Bolivian president Evo Morales cited his friendship with Chile’s president, Michelle Bachelet, and feels that she has the utmost interest in settling the issue. “We will always act with great humility, serenity, but also with great dignity”, said Morales in an interview moments before taking off to New York, where he will take part in the United Nations General Assembly.
Upon hearing the news of the ICJ, Bachelet said that Bolivia hasn’t won anything yet and that the Court simply took up the issue. “The only thing decided up until now is that the Court is fit to recognize the Bolivian plea. And I guarantee that my government – and you should have no doubt about it – will take all the necessary measures to safeguard the integrity of our territory”, said Bachelet.
With 14 out of 16 votes in favor by the judges, the Court at the Hague declared itself to have jurisdiction to judge Bolivia’s plea. From now on, there’s an opening for the judgment of the case started in 2013 by Bolivia.
At The Hague, the Spanish jurist Antonio Remiro Brotons, member of Bolivia’s team of international lawyers, said that the “definitive solution will be found by the parts that are negotiating with political will, good faith and constructive sense”.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
